Everyone’s a Target to the NSA

By Ashley Gorski

Next month, President-elect Donald Trump will be handed the keys to the NSA’s vast spying apparatus. As a candidate, he supported mass surveillance of Americans’ phone calls, called for expanded spying on American Muslims, and even invited Russia ...

With Trump about to take power, the courts have a chance to rein in the NSA’s ‘Upstream’ surveillance powers as oral arguments begin in Wikimedia v. NSA.

Trump’s Huge Turkey Conflict of Interest

By Tim Mak

Two buildings in Turkey may have more potential to upend American national security than any of president-elect Donald Trump’s other foreign business dealings.Trump’s business ties in the country center around two massive buildings mixing resident...

A businessman who allegedly helped the Iranians duck U.S. sanctions used to operate in one of the Istanbul towers bearing the name of the next American president.

Meyers: ‘Alt-Right’ Really Just ‘Nazis’

By Matt Wilstein

“Since the election of Donald Trump and the ascension of his right-hand man, Steve Bannon, there have been fears about the rise of white supremacy,” Seth Meyers said Wednesday night. “Yet the media seems to be bending over backwards to normalize t...

The ‘Late Night’ host delivered a strongly worded message to the media about their use of the term ‘alt-right.’

Is Princess Eugenie Engaged?

By Tom Sykes

Are you ready for another royal wedding?No, not Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (at least not yet) but speculation that Princess Eugenie—the younger daughter of Sarah ‘Fergie’ Ferguson and Prince Andrew, the Duke of York—may be engaged was fuelled ...

Princess Eugenie stepped out of a London club wearing a ring on her engagement finger last night. Is this why her father is seeking to upgrade any future spouse's official status?

Madonna’s Carpool Karaoke with Corden

By Matt Wilstein

When James Corden traveled to London for his “Carpool Karaoke” session with Adele, it delivered his show the most-watched late-night clip of the year (136 million views and counting).This week, he went to New York City to try to top that feat with...

The Material Girl was the latest star to drop her facade on The Late Late Show’s most popular segment.

Colbert Breaks Down #Pizzagate ‘Madness’

By Matt Wilstein

There was a time when Stephen Colbert was described as a “fake news” anchor, first on The Daily Show and then on The Colbert Report. But in 2016, “fake news” has come to mean something very different.On Wednesday night’s Late Show, Colbert told hi...

The ‘Late Show’ host explains how Hillary Clinton’s emails about pizza led a deranged man to shoot up a D.C. pizzeria.

A Bad Year That Was Good for Music

By Howard Wolfson

As the Age of Trump dawns, many artists are rediscovering resistance, rebellion, and political commentary. In that spirit, here’s a list of my favorite albums of 2016, with a heavy emphasis on music that spoke to our moment.Beyoncé—LemonadeIn taki...

In this lowdown, sorry year, such disparate artists as Beyoncé, Radiohead, and Bob Mould created albums that directly addressed our dire straits. Here’s the best of it.

Madonna’s Carpool Karaoke with Corden

By Matt Wilstein

When James Corden traveled to London for his “Carpool Karaoke” session with Adele, it delivered his show the most-watched late-night clip of the year (136 million views and counting).This week, he went to New York City to try to top that feat with...

The Material Girl was the latest star to drop her facade on The Late Late Show’s most popular segment.

How Kylie Became the Savviest Kardashian

By Amy Zimmerman

In the words of Kylie Jenner, 2016 really was the year of realizing stuff. Of course, Jenner was probably just talking about learning basic facts. As one of two recent graduates of a Kris Jenner-orchestrated home school experience, Kylie’s educati...

At 19, Kris Jenner’s youngest owns three houses, is the seventh most-followed person on Instagram, and rules a makeup empire. Meanwhile, two rappers are fighting for her attention.

‘Hairspray Live!’ Brought Me to Tears

By Kevin Fallon

There's a powerful moment right before Jennifer Hudson's powder-keg voice blows the roof off the Hairspray Live set and brings the entire viewing audience to tears. "There's a whole lot of ugly comin' at you from a never-e...

You can’t stop the beat when Jennifer Hudson, Kristin Chenoweth, and Harvey Fierstein are this brilliant and a musical’s message is this timely. Why hate when you can dance?

Inside TV’s Most Addictive New Comedy

By Matt Wilstein

Like Netflix’s Stranger Things before it, the new comedy series Search Party seemingly came out of nowhere this fall. TBS decided to drop all 10 episodes of the show on its streaming platforms over Thanksgiving weekend and it quickly became the pe...

Michael Showalter talks about his newest cult hit Search Party and what to expect from Wet Hot American Summer: 10 Years Later.

How Kylie Became the Savviest Kardashian

By Amy Zimmerman

In the words of Kylie Jenner, 2016 really was the year of realizing stuff. Of course, Jenner was probably just talking about learning basic facts. As one of two recent graduates of a Kris Jenner-orchestrated home school experience, Kylie’s educati...

At 19, Kris Jenner’s youngest owns three houses, is the seventh most-followed person on Instagram, and rules a makeup empire. Meanwhile, two rappers are fighting for her attention.

How Russia Makes—and Humiliates—Refugees

By Anna Nemtsova

MOSCOW — Salekh carried a slender black leather briefcase and his long, skinny fingers were running nervously all over it, drumming as if on piano keys. Several times during the interview he unzipped the folder to pull out two envelopes, the lett...

Civil Assistance is the only legal aid organization helping tens of thousands of refugees fleeing war zones where Russia is fighting.

Blair: We Need a Muscular Third Way

By Eleanor Clift

With Donald Trump’s upset win foreshadowed by the U.K. referendum to leave the European Union known as Brexit, who better to console shell-shocked Washington than former British Prime Minister Tony Blair?“Your election was close,” he told a ballro...

‘The alternative to a strongman can’t be a weak center,’ the former prime minister said at a moment when faith in democracy appears to be in decline.

Why Abe Is Really Going to Pearl Harbor

By Jake Adelstein

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan (Liberal Democratic Party) soberly remembers the lessons of Pearl Harbor: A surprise attack can strike a devastating blow.By announcing his intentions, on the night of Dec. 5 in Tokyo, to pay respect to the dead ...

How Russia Makes—and Humiliates—Refugees

By Anna Nemtsova

MOSCOW — Salekh carried a slender black leather briefcase and his long, skinny fingers were running nervously all over it, drumming as if on piano keys. Several times during the interview he unzipped the folder to pull out two envelopes, the lett...

Civil Assistance is the only legal aid organization helping tens of thousands of refugees fleeing war zones where Russia is fighting.

Poll: Americans Warm to Torture, Bombing

By Kimberly Dozier

Bombarded by President-Elect Donald Trump’s election rhetoric promising to step up the campaign against the so-called Islamic State, Americans are more likely to accept torture and indiscriminate bombing of suspected terrorists than they were two ...

An International Red Cross poll shows more Americans and other Westerners than ever before are OK with harsh tactics, yet those under fire still hope the laws of war apply to them.

Rome Falls to Trump’s Barbarian Horde

By Barbie Latza Nadeau, Christopher Dickey

ROME — “A casa! A casa!” shouted the crowds marching through the streets of the Eternal City. Their demand: that Prime Minister Matteo Renzi “go home” after the crushing defeat of the constitutional referendum on which he foolishly staked his poli...

Putin is stealth-invading the EU empire of liberal democracy. Vienna held out against the right-wing onslaught, but the Italian PM is out after a crushing loss.

How ISIS Returned to Syria

By Roy Gutman

This is the final chapter in a groundbreaking investigation by Pulitzer-Prize-winning reporter Roy Gutman that documents Bashar al-Assad’s sinister contributions to the creation of the so-called Islamic State. It demonstrates the dictator’s compli...

After nearly a decade of sponsoring jihad in next-door Iraq, Assad lost a third of his country to the same proxies.

Poll: Americans Warm to Torture, Bombing

By Kimberly Dozier

Bombarded by President-Elect Donald Trump’s election rhetoric promising to step up the campaign against the so-called Islamic State, Americans are more likely to accept torture and indiscriminate bombing of suspected terrorists than they were two ...

An International Red Cross poll shows more Americans and other Westerners than ever before are OK with harsh tactics, yet those under fire still hope the laws of war apply to them.

Watch FDR’s Day of Infamy Speech

By The Daily Beast

Full transcript below:
Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.The United States was at peace with that Nation...

See the president’s famed address to Congress following the attack on Pearl Harbor.

‘Leave, Nazis!’ Greets Alt-Right

By Justin Glawe, Sarah Bertness

COLLEGE STATION, Texas—An anarchist in a black mask picked up a handful of rocks and threw them at a trio of white nationalists.“Leave, Nazis!” he screamed.The men ducked slightly and kept walking. They were the target of students and protesters a...

Rocks were thrown amid violent confrontations as thousands of protesters faced down white supremacists, national socialists, and alt-right activists in Texas.

Firefighter Threatened Black Couple

By Kate Briquelet

Editor's Note: A Georgia firefighter was indicted Wednesday for allegedly spewing racial slurs and aiming a handgun at a black couple at an Applebee’s last year.
The announcement came hours after The Daily Beast revealed initial misdemeano...

A white firefighter allegedly called Marquist Curtis and his fiancée racial slurs, then pointed a gun at them. A year later, prosecutors still haven’t pursued him.

Watch FDR’s Day of Infamy Speech

By The Daily Beast

Full transcript below:
Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.The United States was at peace with that Nation...

See the president’s famed address to Congress following the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Dylann Roof Asks: What Is ‘Evil’?

By Jason Ryan

CHARLESTON, South Carolina—Dylann Roof sat quietly in court for most of last week, serving as his own lawyer. Facing the possibility of the death penalty for the 2015 massacre at Emanuel A.M.E. Church, Roof rarely voiced a request or an objection ...

The accused murderer of nine black parishioners prepares to represent himself at a trial that could send him to death.

The Man Who Tried to Stop Pearl Harbor

By David J. Castello

At 2 a.m. on April 1, 2001, I was sitting at my computer in my Laguna Beach condo working on a website I’ve long since forgotten when an email popped up with nothing in the subject line.“Do you know who I am?”“Another April Fool’s joke,” I thought...

George Elliott was one of two servicemen manning a radar station on Oahu the morning of Dec. 7, 1941. When he reported a huge sighting on his radar screen, he was ignored.

Syrian War Footage Is Now a Video Game

By Marc C. Johnson

One day in late August, a lone Syrian BMP-1—a Soviet-designed cross between a tank and a tracked armored personnel carrier—made its way between the besieged Syrian Air Force Academy and advanced combat positions on the front. Throughout the summer...

Military footage captured from drones and body cameras has created a new generation of military propaganda auteurs to the point where terrorist videos posted online are as captivatin...

Trump Team Wants to End Net Neutrality

By Kelly Weill

Donald Trump has tapped two telecommunications lobbyists to head his FCC transition team. That’s bad news for net neutrality, the policy that says internet service providers must treat all data equally.Last Monday, Trump named Jeffrey Eisenach and...

The principle that internet service providers should treat data equally was championed by the Obama administration, but corporate lackeys are set to overturn that on the FCC.

I Write Fake News. Here’s What Works.

By Marco Chacon

At first, I created fake news stories stories that were meant to be head-turning: Hillary sold passport-making machines directly to ISIS. Obama won’t say the words “Radical Islam” because it would break an Islamic Spell he thinks he is protected b...

Here’s what I learned trapping trending algorithms and the people of Facebook, even when I wasn’t really trying to.

When ‘Energy’ Drinks Had Real Energy

By The Conversation

By Timothy J. Jorgensen, Georgetown University
Modern life have you feeling frazzled? Flagging a bit as you rush through your day? Maybe you’re one of the millions of consumers who lean on energy drinks to put a little extra pep in your step.Thou...

Millions of people consume energy drinks every day, but back in the day those drinks were a little more, um, energetic.

Trump Team Wants to End Net Neutrality

By Kelly Weill

Donald Trump has tapped two telecommunications lobbyists to head his FCC transition team. That’s bad news for net neutrality, the policy that says internet service providers must treat all data equally.Last Monday, Trump named Jeffrey Eisenach and...

The principle that internet service providers should treat data equally was championed by the Obama administration, but corporate lackeys are set to overturn that on the FCC.

Here’s How to Fix Facebook’s Fake News

By Michael Casey, Oliver Luckett

For those of us who (despite a big blow to our confidence) still believe in the power of ideas to generate good, Facebook’s fake news problem should be a lightning rod.Nobody wins in a system that rewards lying. If stories stating that Pope Franci...

Transparent algorithms and unfiltered newsfeeds may not be enough to fix the digital delivery systems that have made fake news a fixture. What’s needed is a software overhaul.

Breeding an Assassination Generation

By Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, USA (ret.)

Imagine your child, or grandchild, or your niece or nephew, or your friend’s child have gone off to school, the mall, or the theater. Hours later, you hear the breaking-news story every parent in the United States fears most: Shooting in Progress....

There’s a proven correlation between video games and gun violence, yet we still allow our children free access to these games, breeding an assassination generation.

Here’s How to Fix Facebook’s Fake News

By Michael Casey, Oliver Luckett

For those of us who (despite a big blow to our confidence) still believe in the power of ideas to generate good, Facebook’s fake news problem should be a lightning rod.Nobody wins in a system that rewards lying. If stories stating that Pope Franci...

Transparent algorithms and unfiltered newsfeeds may not be enough to fix the digital delivery systems that have made fake news a fixture. What’s needed is a software overhaul.

Prince Harry’s Toronto Layover Scandal

By Tom Sykes

Prince Harry looked distinctly bleary-eyed when he showed up Wednesday morning for a long-standing charity fundraiser in the city of London.He couldn’t keep the smile off his face, however, and the reason for his happy dishevelment was a busted se...

The young royal’s detour, and the lies told about said detour, are only the latest in an escalating war between Kensington Palace and the British media.

Watch Live: 2016 Grammy Nominations

By Amelia Warshaw

Nominations for the 59th annual Grammy Awards will be announced Tuesday, December 6th. The awards show itself is scheduled for January 12, 2017 and set to be hosted by James Corden.The nominations will be released in two waves, with the noms for ‘...

The 2016 Grammy Nominations will be presented Tuesday morning by Meghan Trainor and released by the Recording Academy.

Learn a Hard Lesson in Relationships

By Janice Kaplan

When the lights first come up on the play The Babylon Line, actor Josh Radnor, alone on stage, looks intently at the audience and says, “The End.”It’s a terrific start for a play that ultimately wants to be about the stories we tell ourselves and ...

Watch Live: 2016 Grammy Nominations

By Amelia Warshaw

Nominations for the 59th annual Grammy Awards will be announced Tuesday, December 6th. The awards show itself is scheduled for January 12, 2017 and set to be hosted by James Corden.The nominations will be released in two waves, with the noms for ‘...

The 2016 Grammy Nominations will be presented Tuesday morning by Meghan Trainor and released by the Recording Academy.

Real Violence Hits Home in ‘The Affair’

By Tim Teeman

Just over a year ago, the playwright David Henry Hwang, who wrote Sunday night’s episode of The Affair, was stabbed in the neck while walking home from the grocery store in a random attack in his Brooklyn neighborhood, Fort Greene. The attack almo...

The writer of Sunday night’s episode, David Henry Hwang, was stabbed—almost fatally—in the neck, just like Noah. The terror of the character carried an all-too-real charge.

A Teen Suicide Electrifies Broadway

By Tim Teeman

From Stephen Sondheim through Rent to Next To Normal, Broadway musicals have long left their traditional moorings of boy-meets-girl, a bit of fluffy complication, uplifting self-discovery, and cheery ensemble dance routines. With the fascinating D...

In ‘Dear Evan Hansen,’ a teenager’s mysterious suicide is the spur for another teenager’s lie—and an examination of truth, memory, and internet lunacy.

Fighting the Nazis From a Hospital Bed

By Ben Macintyre

Five months before Operation Squatter, a tall, thin soldier lay grumpy and immobile in a Cairo hospital bed. The 25-year-old officer had been brought into the Scottish Military Hospital on June 15, 1941, paralyzed from the waist down. A letter to ...

David Stirling was no one’s idea of a good soldier, yet as Ben Macintyre’s new book reveals, the British officer was an inspired strategist, even while hospitalized.

Real Violence Hits Home in ‘The Affair’

By Tim Teeman

Just over a year ago, the playwright David Henry Hwang, who wrote Sunday night’s episode of The Affair, was stabbed in the neck while walking home from the grocery store in a random attack in his Brooklyn neighborhood, Fort Greene. The attack almo...

The writer of Sunday night’s episode, David Henry Hwang, was stabbed—almost fatally—in the neck, just like Noah. The terror of the character carried an all-too-real charge.